Scottish Renewables to host London Stock Exchange event

Scottish Renewables to host the free event to promote LSE's entrepreneur programme ELITE and outline the "benefits and challenges for companies who may consider an IPO as part of their future growth opportunities"

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is to hold an event in Glasgow to promote its entrepreneur programme.

The LSE’s ELITE scheme aims to develop and support private companies' growth strategies by bringing them into contact with experts.

ELITE, a three part service comprising education, business support, and mentoring and access, is delivered in collaboration with Imperial College Business School, corporate advisers, funders, mentors and investors.

Industry body Scottish Renewables is hosting the free event at its Glasgow office on August 26.

Guest speakers include Mark Simmers, chief executive of Edinburgh biofuel pioneers Celtic Renewables, who will share his experience of ELITE, which it joined in April of this year.

Alan Foy, chief executive of Glasgow-based Smart Metering Systems will also give a talk outlining the company's experiences securing an initial public offering onto AIM and life as a public company.

Mark Fahy, head of UK primary markets, small and mid-cap companies at London Stock Exchange, will also provide an introduction to the pan-EU programme, outlining how the programme works and how qualifying companies can apply.

LSE will also provide an overview of current trends in the IPO Market on AIM and the Main Market and outline the “benefits and challenges for companies who may consider an IPO as part of their future growth opportunities”.

Niall Stuart, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, said: “The huge changes in the way that we generate, distribute and even retail energy are creating opportunities for new businesses to come into the market, and Scotland has produced its fair share of success stories already.

“Any business which wants to grow will need access to finance, and any business which wants to grow quickly will need access to expertise and mentoring as well.

“ELITE is designed to do exactly that, and while it won’t be right for everybody, we hope to see more Scottish businesses joining the programme and listing on the market.”

More details on the Elite programme can be found here and event registration details can be found here